A golf club head comprising a body, a variable face thickness pattern, and a plurality of solid metal stiffening rods, and which satisfies the equation Vballnorm≧0.0356x+140.82, is disclosed herein. The body comprises a face, a sole, and a return section, and defines a hollow interior. Each of the rods extends from the return section to the sole within the hollow interior proximate the face to reduce stresses placed on the face during impact with a golf ball. The rods are all located within 1 inch of a rear surface of the face measured along a plane normal to the center of the face, and are spaced a distance of 0.500 to 2.00 inch from one another within the hollow interior. The variable face thickness pattern preferably comprises a plurality of concentric rings, with a center ring having a thickness that is less than a thickness of an intermediary ring.